Sun Unleashes a Blast (April 8, 2011)

A substantial coronal mass ejection blasted out from the Sun from an active region (Apr. 3, 2011) as seen by the STEREO (Ahead) COR2 coronagraph. The region
was from the right side of the Sun, and there is some evidence that it delivered a glancing blow on Earth on April 6. The eruption hurled a billion tons of
mass into space at over a million miles per hour. In coronagraphs an occulting disk (black) blocks out the Sun (represented by the white circle) so that we
can see faint features of the expanding cloud of particles beyond that point.

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after
sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural
History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is
displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us
for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send
your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.